Eurovision Song Contest 2017
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in the Fischt Stadium in Sochi, Russia, following Russia's victory at the 2016 contest in Stockholm with the song "You Are The Only One", performed by Sergey Lazarev. This was the first time the contest took place in Sochi, but the second time in Russia, after its first victory, in 2001 in Moscow. The contest consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May, and a final on 13 May 2017. All three live shows were hosted by Olga Shelest, Ivan Urgant and Dmitry Shepelev. Forty-two countries participated in the contest. Portugal and Romania returned to the contest after a year's absence, while Bosnia and Herzegovina withdrew on financial grounds. Ukraine withdrew due to financial problems and unsatisfaction with Russian victory in 2016. The winner was France with the song "Requiem", performed by Alma and written by Nazim Khaled. This was France's first win since last century - actually, 1977. It was also the winning song most performed in a country's native language since Serbia's "Molitva" in 2007. Additionally, this was the second consecutive year in which an autofinalist won the contest following Russia's victory in 2016. Moreover, France is the only country which managed to finish in the top-5 out of three autofinalists, which are Russia (hosting), France itself and Bulgaria - they all ended up in top-3 previous year; however, Bulgaria reached the sixth place. The EBU reported that 182 million viewers worldwide watched the contest, 22 million fewer than the 2016 record. Participating countries The European Broadcasting Union announced on 31 October 2016 that forty-two countries would participate in the contest, as it was last year. Portugal and Romania returned after a year's absence, while Bosnia and Herzegovina withdrew on financial grounds. Ukraine refused to participate due to financial problems and dissatisfaction with the result of Russia in the contest. According to some speakers, 'Russian victory was arranged', but the EBU strongly denied this fact and even presented all votes for Russia from each country to the Ukrainian delegation. Returning artists The contest featured five representatives who also previously performed as lead vocalists for the same countries. Valentina Monetta, who performed in a duet this time, represented San Marino in three consecutive editions: 2012, 2013, and 2014. The duo of Koit Toome and Laura Põldvere have both represented Estonia in different years: Toome in 1998 as a solo artist, finishing 12th place with the song "Mere lapsed", and Laura in 2005 as part of Suntribe, finishing 20th in the semi-final with the song "Let's Get Loud". Omar Naber represented Slovenia in 2005, finishing 12th in the semi-final with the song "Stop". The SunStroke Project represented Moldova in 2010 alongside Olia Tira, finishing 22nd with the song "Run Away". The contest also featured the group O'G3NE which previously represented the Netherlands at another Eurovision event, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007, as Lisa, Amy and Shelley, with the song "Adem in, Adem Uit". In addition, the contest featured three lead singers previously participating as backing vocalists for the same countries. Israel's representative Imri Ziv who backed Nadav Guedj in 2015 and Hovi Star in 2016, Serbia's representative Tijana Bogićević who backed Nina in 2011 and Azerbaijan’s representative Dihaj who backed Samra, the representative for Azerbaijan in 2016. Semi-final 1 Twenty countries participated in the first semi-final. Russia voted in this semi-final. It took place on 9 May 2017 at 21.00 (CEST). The 12 highlighted countries qualified for the final. 'Semi-final 2' Eighteen countries participated in the second semi-final. Bulgaria and France voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final. 'Final' Twenty-seven countries participated in the final, with all 42 participating countries eligible to vote. The 24 qualifiers from each semi-final and the autofinalists (the top-3 countries of the previous year) took part. The running order for the final was defined after the second semi-final qualifiers' press conference on 11 May, by pulling out the running order from the special bowl.